Are you depressed? Really? If you are, go talk to a counselor. There's more to depression than what comes from just being lonely. You will never have a good relationship if you are depressed, or even just self conscious etc. Stop giving 2 fucks about finding the girl of your dreams. Start focusing on doing things that you enjoy, that make you happy. Learn to be happy with yourself, by yourself, doing things you want to do and the rest will come. I was diagnosed with clinical depression. Before I was diagnosed, I wasn't sure what I was feeling, but tried to fill my gap with a relationship. That just made for a shitty relationship, and made everything worse. Now, I do what I enjoy, what I want, when I want to etc and guess what....I couldn't care about finding a gf. I'm too busy doing my own shit to even care. Stop caring, go have fun. You're 18. You're supposed to be having fun, making mistakes, fucking up, enjoying life during your most naive time.

The following is a reply from the anonymous original poster

Well to address some points, just 'not giving a fuck' about it isn't really going to do anything, My goal right now is to address this problem one time or another to make it REALLY go away for good. I will read that book, thanks, and I will try the best I can to achieve my goal so hopefully I won't be able to recognize myself in the future, in a good way that is. Btw, I've always wanted to go clubbing, or see someone awesome live like Above & Beyond or Nadia Ali or Tritonal... Just plays into the shyness I guess, that and being under 19 -_-

Put it this way, Anon. You're going to university, so you have a better chance at meeting more people than I did when I went to trades school out of HS. I've got a stable full-time job with alright pay, moving out is in the works once my student loans are paid off, and now the only thing missing is a possible relationship to break the complete monotony that currently is my day-to-day life. I tried to be more social by going to my brother's university club events, but ones that didn't fall on days that I worked were few and far in between, and because of all the hustle and bustle of these events I barely got to talk to anyone. However, I did learn to be more open to people, especially with my sense of humour. I hardly get invited to things unless it was with the people I was tighter with in high school, probably because those that I had considered "friends" stopped giving two shits about me unless they need specific advice from me. Now I'm way too busy with work to try and get out there and meet new people outside of RS, and as pathetic as it is to admit, I'm attempting online dating at the age of 20 (which I'll admit again is less than stellar at the moment).

tl;dr? Your chances are better than mine man, good luck. The last thing you want to do is seem awkward as your first impression. You're only 18, and I already feel like I'm 30 for christ's sake.

The following is a reply from the anonymous original poster

@CorneringArtist
It's all good man.. You'll find someone soon, atleast you're making an honest effort, who cares if it is online dating.... But besides that, I can really relate to your situation, opening up definitely helps, which is something I really need to work on along with my shyness. Thanks for the advice man, and take it easy, you'll pull through I'm sure

Hey man, dont think too much about it... Everyone has those feelings at some point in their lives its not only you..

I see you like to workout as a hobbie, so we have something in common... Working out is awesome and is a good stress reliever so continue doing that and come join us at the workout thread!

One of my regrets in University:

Having a long term gf, or even a gf at all.

Shit man, you'll meet so many girls, you don't wanna be tied down. As long as you don't give up on yourself, keep positive, this is just a bump on the road.
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Focus on yourself, on self improvement, and get to that positive state of mind.

yah dude

you need to explore the world...meet people

your expectations of the "girl of your dreams" will change once you get to know more peeps.

dude you're 18, chill out. dont worry about finding a serious gf yet, just open yourself up and talk to the girls in your classes in university. if you really feel that lonely and depressed, get a dog. dogs really do help for matters like this. the plus side is you can take the dog for walks and the girls will run up to you saying "OMG SUCH A CUTE PUPPY".

school is where i see a lot of people hook up, you rarely see people at coffee shops talking to strangers anymore. what you should do is dont be scared to talk to girls and ask for their numbers because what is there to lose? you just gain yourself confidence. if a girl shoots you down, go ask the next one. because first step is texting/talking right? get to know them and then start hanging out. you cant build a hotel on a beach, so why think you can build a relationship on almost nothing.